With Caitlin Clark on the way, Indiana Fever set to have 36 games on national TV

Call it the Caitlin Clark effect.

The WNBA will show 36 of the Indiana Fever’s 40 games on its national broadcast and streaming partners, starting with the season opener at Connecticut on May 14. Last season, the Fever had only 22 of their games shown nationally.

The Fever, who are expected to take Clark first in the WNBA draft on Monday, will appear eight times across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, as well as eight times on ION and twice on CBS. In addition, the Fever will be highlighted 13 times on NBA TV, four times on Prime Video and once on CBS Sports Network.

Clark helped the NCAA land record TV ratings, including 18.9 million for Iowa‘s NCAA title game defeat to South Carolina.

“With the energy and excitement already generated by what we anticipate will be a star-studded rookie class, and on the heels of a 2023 season that featured one of the greatest MVP races in WNBA history and our most-watched regular season in over two decades, the WNBA’s broadcast and streaming partners are offering a huge national platform that will showcase the league’s superstars, rising stars, rivalries and a newly reconfigured WNBA Commissioner’s Cup,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said.

The WNBA just had its most-watched season in 21 years, averaging 462,000 viewers per game across ABC, ESPN and CBS. The league also had its most-watched Finals in 20 years, which featured Las Vegas and New York. It was up 36% from the previous season. The league has its TV deal expiring at the end of next year and that could lead to a massive new contract for the WNBA.

Besides the excitement around Indiana and Clark, the league is showcasing two-time defending champion Las Vegas. The Aces are looking to become the first team to win three titles in a row since Houston took the first four titles from 1997-2000. The Aces will make the second-most appearances on national TV with 35.

New York, which lost to Las Vegas in the Finals, is third with 31 appearances.

As the rest of the league prepares for the arrival of Clark, longtime Fever fans, like 61-year-old former hoops player John Meinen, can’t hide their excitement over seeing the potential of a game-changing player suddenly making the Fever relevant again after a seven-year playoff drought.

“She’s Bob Cousy meets Steph Curry. I mean there just hasn’t been anyone, certainly in the women’s game, who plays the way she does,” Meinen said. “I don’t know her, I’ve never met her, but she…